Politics aside, Rush Limbaugh shouldn’t be considered as a possible buyer for the St Louis Ram. Ok, this has everything to do with politics, and that’s the problem. Owners naturally piss off people with their decisions over a team. That’s because the fans care so deeply about the team that they hold different opinions on what should be done. The issue with Rush isn’t that he’s a polarizing political figure, it’s that he’s so damn polarizing that it would push away people from attending Rams games.
I don’t know if I’ve ever witnessed someone as openly bigoted as he is and gets away with it. Ok, Glenn Beck and Bill O’Reilly perhaps, but they’re all on the same page. On the flip-side you’ve got Bill Maher and… who’s that greedy fat fuck that has issues with guns again? Oh yeah, Michael Moore. Each of these people is so far outside the loop that they’d butter their asses and eat shit on their toast.
This isn’t just a “celebrity” buying a team as with so many did with the Miami Dolphins. This isn’t just another investment as was the case for Jerry Jones on the Dallas Cowboys or Stuart Sternberg on the Tampa Bay Rays. This isn’t somebody’s passion like George Steinbrenner on the Yankees. This isn’t a family business like the Glazers on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Manchester United. This is possibly a potential demolition of the entire Rams franchise and a serious chunk of the NFL too. Look at how polarizing Mark Cuban is as the owner of the Dallas Mavericks, and he’s not in the political field and that’s basketball.
The American landscape has two topics that are effectively taboo to speak about because there are so many differing viewpoints: politics and religion. I sometimes dread having certain family members come visit because it always, and I do mean always, turns into a ideologically political debate at some point. My views have always been the same since I was a kid, but I see the landscape shift around me and it’s hard to find someone with my views. My choices annoy some of my family because of certain labels applied to them, and I just like to remove myself from the room, but alas, they always ask, “What do you think?” Mix this sentiment in with the most passionate sport in the country, and you’re bound to have some seriously troubling times for the franchise.
So what’s the worst that can happen? In short, you’d have contractually obligated players sitting out over issues with the ownership. This has happened before, and it will happen many more times. If an owner is apparently screwing a player out of playing time or money, or whatever else you can think of, then the tension increases. In something like professional football, you have massive egos on the players. These egos don’t like other big egos most of the time. If you have a white racist apply pressure on a black player, even indirectly, you’re going to have a disgruntled employee who won’t work at maximum efficiency. You might even get a revolt of some kind.
Owners in the NFL, don’t fuck yourselves over by allowing Rush Limbaugh to take control of the St Louis Rams. You’d be shooting yourselves in the ass in the long run with all the stupid that falls from his mouth on his syndicated radio show. After a game he dislikes, and he’d have a personal stake in it if owned, he’d openly criticize the living crap out of you guys and gladly pay the fine applied. Don’t let it get to that. Keep politics off the playing field.